Helmet Vending Machines are Coming Soon to a Bike Share Near You

With the appearance of bike sharing programs all over the place there’s also the need for bike safety re-education, and the city of Boston is getting ready to go all in. The police aren’t giving tickets to riders just yet for not wearing helmets, but there is quite the push to ensure that your head stays safe.

Residents and locals alike have made the city’s Hubway bike share system a hit, but now the increase in riders has resulted in a need for increased safety. Signups for Hubway encourage riders to buy a helmet, to always wear the helmet, and there are even safety classes from which to choose. The city has also started to blanket the bike lanes with signs reminding everyone what can happened to those who choose not to wear a helmet, and the results—which are not too pretty. Some of the signs show some pretty nasty injuries, and many have the tagline “And you think a helmet is uncomfortable?”

Obviously we’re all about safety, but what we wanted to share is the new bike helmet vending machine that's coming soon. Apparently it’ll be one of the first such devices, and it’s appropriately named "Helmet Hub." Basically the system would spit out—and collect—the helmets, and then things would be sent offsite to be cleaned up and dispensed back to the machine. It sounds like the initial test box is being finished up, and it’ll make it’s appearance right alongside the bike share spot near the Boston Public Library.

The machines will offer up to three different helmet sizes—hopefully in crazy colors—and the whole kiosk will be solar powered. We have a feeling this machine could catch on for other cities, and that’ll be especially the case if rental fees are low.